'The Waney Edge'
Praise for 'The Waney Edge':
'Deft descriptions of fearless, talented women. A strong narrative line with a natural rhythm and musicality. I like the loose formality of her stanzas and while much of her poetry deals with loss and deep feeling, some of it is also very funny. Chloe reads her work exceptionally well, bringing her characters to life.' Jennifer Grigg - Editor, Green Bottle Press
‘There is no one else writing like Chloe Balcomb, no one else who can render huge themes – feminism, death, our life with other animals – into such finely observed and delicately wrought vignettes, vibrant with original diction and vocabulary. Here are poems of tender insight, of quirky circus women, luminous poems of death, its approach and its aftermath, poems that weave the narrator into the life of heron-as-suitor. Whether she’s writing about the last days of a cat, walking into darkness, or a specific piece of timber, Chloe’s attention to detail and her intimate observations of what it means to be alive will surprise and delight.’ Roselle Angwin, Poet and Author
‘Women finding their way in the world, surpassing stereotypes, walking their particular tightropes, navigating relationships with family, friends and lovers. These are some of the voices that populate ‘The Waney Edge’, Chloe Balcomb’s exquisite debut pamphlet. Grounded and gritty with a refreshing edge of humour and no trace of easy sentimentality, these poems will lift you off the page and into other lives.’ Seni Seneviratne, Poet and Artist
'This collection presents some elegiac poems of loss, leavened with others possessing a sharp mix of humour and cruel wit. It is one of the most striking I have read this year.' Rennie Halstead
Read full review www.sphinxreview.co.uk/index.php/opoi-reviews-2019/889-chloe-balcombe-the-waney-edge
Green Bottle Press, Official Launch 2019
The Poetry Cafe,
Betterton Street,
London, WC2H 9BX.
Praise for 'The Waney Edge':
'Deft descriptions of fearless, talented women. A strong narrative line with a natural rhythm and musicality. I like the loose formality of her stanzas and while much of her poetry deals with loss and deep feeling, some of it is also very funny. Chloe reads her work exceptionally well, bringing her characters to life.' Jennifer Grigg - Editor, Green Bottle Press
‘There is no one else writing like Chloe Balcomb, no one else who can render huge themes – feminism, death, our life with other animals – into such finely observed and delicately wrought vignettes, vibrant with original diction and vocabulary. Here are poems of tender insight, of quirky circus women, luminous poems of death, its approach and its aftermath, poems that weave the narrator into the life of heron-as-suitor. Whether she’s writing about the last days of a cat, walking into darkness, or a specific piece of timber, Chloe’s attention to detail and her intimate observations of what it means to be alive will surprise and delight.’ Roselle Angwin, Poet and Author
‘Women finding their way in the world, surpassing stereotypes, walking their particular tightropes, navigating relationships with family, friends and lovers. These are some of the voices that populate ‘The Waney Edge’, Chloe Balcomb’s exquisite debut pamphlet. Grounded and gritty with a refreshing edge of humour and no trace of easy sentimentality, these poems will lift you off the page and into other lives.’ Seni Seneviratne, Poet and Artist
'This collection presents some elegiac poems of loss, leavened with others possessing a sharp mix of humour and cruel wit. It is one of the most striking I have read this year.' Rennie Halstead
Read full review www.sphinxreview.co.uk/index.php/opoi-reviews-2019/889-chloe-balcombe-the-waney-edge
Green Bottle Press, Official Launch 2019
The Poetry Cafe,
Betterton Street,
London, WC2H 9BX.
Jennifer Grigg, Editor, with poets, Grace Wilentz, Chloe Balcomb and Caroline Davies
The Backcomb Beauties Blonde Marie had perfect skin, porcelain pale, she spoke six languages and knew her way around a comb, taught me how to scaffle roots and strands into a nest, to transform waves into four inch spikes. Each Friday night we’d lacquer up in my room, slick on lipstick, eyeliner, oversized coats. So there we were, myself, Mad Clare and the Backcomb Beauties, Chrissie in her astrakhan, Tall Jo, Little Dawn and the rest of the flock, a charm of rare birds, crowned and crested, winging our way down West Street, sipping from hipflasks, alighting on the dance floor, all feather, foot and attitude, Sheffield’s boldest barnets flying in formation. youtu.be/kex5RZMv3Xg 
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'the best words in the best order'
S.T. Coleridge What a truly fantastic sell out night!
Thank you to our amazing audience, to wonderful poet, editor and publisher, Jennifer Grigg and to poets: Grace Wilentz (Holding Distance) www. grace wilentz.com and Caroline Davies (Elements of Water) www.carolinemdavies.co.uk What a treat to share the stage with these talented women! Extract from the title poem: The Waney Edge She buys the oak from a man in Fife, high up a hidden forest track, his calm Alsation rugging the threshold. She notes his flannel shirt, cuffs rolled to the elbow, how tenderly he handles stock. This offcut's waste, waney edge, flawed by stubborn knots and scars, a man who values difference then, the wayward wood that won't conform. A waney edge follows the natural curve of the the tree - the bark edge, with or without the presence of the bark. This wood is often discarded as imperfect, despite it's unique beauty. AVAILABLE HERE OR FROM greenbottlepress.com Bishop's House: The Bints, The Waney Edge & guests. Thank you, we raised over £400 for Extinction Rebellion Off the Shelf Festival of Words, 2019 Sheffield "A fabulous, uplifting event!" Good to be invited back to 'Off the Shelf' for the second year running but this time with my pamphlet, 'The Waney Edge' and a privilege as ever to share the stage with wonderful poet and writing buddy Seni Seneviratne. Seni's third collection, 'Unknown Soldier' grew from an exploration of photos and letters belonging to her late father, a Royal Signal Man and is a Poetry Book Society recommended book. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey1A4cv9Sz8&feature=youtu.be |
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